By the roadsides in most of Kampala there has been noticeable activity. Men dressed in reflector jackets and overalls have been digging up trenches, placing coloured trenches cables in them. These cables apparently are “littered†across Kampala, covering hundreds of kilometres.
By the roadsides in most of Kampala there has been noticeable activity. Men dressed in reflector jackets and overalls have been digging up trenches, placing coloured trenches cables in them. These cables apparently are “littered” across Kampala, covering hundreds of kilometres.
Google, the largest internet search engine in the world, has been placing cables within Kampala for local Internet Services Providers (ISPs) to tap into.
Kai Wulff, the Access Field Development Director Google, told reporters in Kampala that “Project Link” would provide the city with unlimited high-speed and reliable internet at a lower cost than usual.
//Cue in: You have the choice…
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Uganda Communication Commission Statistics indicate that by end of December 2012, internet subscribers had grown to 6.2million up from 4.8million in 2011.
According to Wulff, internet penetration can be improved further if Ugandans can access the internet even further, from 8.1percent of the total population, if costs are lowered as a result of better infrastructure.
Most ISP’s in Uganda spend heavily on infrastructure like cables to take internet services to their customers, which ups the cost. Wulff believes that the infrastructure, small and large businesses in Kampala will access high-speed internet at much lower rates than before.
//Cue in: That is what….
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In press statement issued by Google, they reveal that this fiber will link “the supply chain that connects users to the data they seek, share, and create.” Adding, “Some parts of that chain are already strong: for example, undersea cables are bringing data to Africa’s shores, and mobile operators are expanding their services across the continent.”
The increasing number of internet enabled mobile phones is making information more accessible, creating opportunities for content developers, including universities.
//Cue in: And yes schools…
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Kampala is the first city Africa to have this Google project and already, some ISP’s have been upbeat about it. “The partnership with Google will enable us to expand our network capacities, thus helping us achieve our ambition to provide users with the best network coverage and high-quality services," Godfrey Kisekka, Chief Technology Officer, Orange Uganda is quoted the Google statement
Roger Sekaziga, Chief Executive Officer, Roke Telkom also said it would create “flexibility” and reduce their “incremental capital expenditure.”
Kampala is also one of the few cities in Africa that has access to the fastest internet at the moment, known as 4G. However, this internet and other generations before it, is unreliable sometimes due to vandalism and outages. If the “Project Link” is anything to go by, then internet will be more reliable.
Mark Keith Muhumuza
Freelancer
